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Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inUnless you repent you will all likewise perish…. but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3, 5)
To some people, this double-call to repentance sounds strange coming from Jesus. This Lord of Love, who played with children and blessed them, who received sinners gladly – did this same Jesus who command us to repent?
On that day, accusers approached Jesus with a political question. Soldiers under the command of Pontius Pilate, the Roman appointed Governor of Judea, had massacred several Galilean Jews who came to the temple to sacrifice. It was an appalling crime, and Jesus’ accusers wanted Him to express His outrage against Pilate. For the accusers, it was a no-lose situation. If Jesus criticized Pilate for his obvious crime, then Jesus declared Himself an enemy of Rome. If Jesus took sides with Pilate, He would betray His people. Yet, whenever we think we put God into no-win situation, He wins.
Jesus’ answer didn’t deal with the political issue at all. He brought it home to their lives. Jesus reminded them that those who suffered under Pilate were not worse sinners than others were. Instead of theological speculation, Jesus said we should use the tragedy to teach us the need to be right with God. The issue was no longer political, it was personal. Jesus essentially said: “These Galileans died unexpectedly and tragically. But what about you? Are you ready for such an unexpected death?”
Jesus wasn’t done. He quoted another hard case – the deadly collapse of a tower. Jesus used these two instances of disaster, both well known in His day. One was an evil done by the hand of man, and the other seemed to be a natural disaster. Sometimes we think that those who suffer under such tragedies must have been worse-than-average sinners. Jesus reminded us that this is not the case. We normally think of some people as “good,” and some people as “bad,” and believe that God should only allow good things to happen to good people and bad things to bad people, and Jesus corrected this wrong thinking.
Jesus didn’t focus on the question “Why did this happen?” Instead, He said we should consider, “What does this mean to me?” It means that I might face the same fate. It means that we all may die at any time, so repentance must be a top priority. In both cases, those who died did not think they would die soon, but they did – and we can suppose that most of them were not ready.
In the grammar of the ancient Greek language, Jesus mentioned two kinds of repentance, both essential. Verse five (unless you repent) describes “once and for all” repentance; the verb tense in verse three (unless you repent) describes continual repentance.
We need both kinds of repentance. Have you made the “once for all” turn away from sin and self, and unto Jesus? Then move on to the second type of repentance and turn your heart and mind toward Him every day.
Click here for David’s commentary on Luke 13
Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David on Apple Podcasts